Electrical connector having improved coupling means



7, 1967 J. ANZIMMERMAN, JR 6 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING IMPROVEDCOUPLING MEANS Filed Dec. 14, 1965 2 $heets-$heet 1 3,351,886 uLECTRICALCONNECTOR HAVING IMPROVED COUPLING MEANS N v- 7. 1967 J. A. ZIMMERMAN,JR

Filed Dec. 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,351,886ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING IMPRGVED COUPLING MEANS John AaronZimmerman, Jr., Hershey, Pa., assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg,Pa. Filed Dec. 14, 1965, Ser. No. 513,697 2 Claims. (Cl. 339-90) Thisinvention relates to a multi-contact electrical connector havingimproved means for coupling the two parts of the connector.

A commonly known type of multi-contact electrical connector comprisestwo parts, each part consisting of a cylindrical shell having aninsulating insert means therein with contact terminals mounted in theinsert. When the two parts of the connector are engaged with each other,the contact terminals of the two parts are also engaged to complete theelectrical circuits of the wires to which the terminals are attached.The connector parts are conventionally provided with key and keywaymeans for polarizing purposes so that the intended terminals will beengaged with each other when the connector parts are coupled. Connectorsof this type are also conventionally provided with a coupling member inthe form of a locking ring or nut rotatably mounted on one of theconnector shells, this coupling nut having grooves for reception of pinsextending radially from the other part. The coupling of the connectorparts thus requires that the key and keyway means be aligned, and thecoupling nut be rotated relative to the shell member on which it ismounted to pull the two parts together.

In connectors of the type described above, the grooves in the couplingnut must thus be aligned with the pins of the mating connector part whenthe two parts are engaged with each other. The present invention relatesspecifically to a connector having improved means for aligning thegrooves in this coupling nut with the complementary coupling pins of themating connector part.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improvedmulticontact electrical connector. A further object is to provide aconnector having improved coupling means which permits rapid coupling ofthe two connector parts. A further object is to provide a connectorhaving a pre-oriented coupling nut on one connector part and which isrelatively simple and rugged in its structural details.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment in an electrical connector in which the two parts eachcomprise a cylindrical shell member having an insert, containingterminals, therein. The shells are provided with conventional key andkeyway means so that they can be engaged with each other only when theyare in the proper and intended rotational positions. A locking ring orcoupling nut is rotatably mounted on one of the shell members and hasgrooves on its internal surface for engagement with radially extendingpins of the other shell to pull the two parts .of the connector togetherupon rotation of the locking ring relative to its shell. The shell onwhich the locking ring is mounted has a radially extending flange andthe locking ring has a rearwardly facing internal shoulder which isopposed to the forwardly facing surface of the flange. The coupling nutis resiliently biased rearwardly of the shell member on which it ismounted so that the shoulder and flange are normally biased towards eachother. The opposed surfaces of this shoulder and flange are providedwith interfitting shoulders which function as a ratchet means. Thisratchet means is effective to yieldably latch the coupling nut at thelast one position relative to the shell, this position corresponding tothe starting position of the grooves and pins of the coupling nut andthe other shell member. The coupling nut is thus latched "ice in aposition relative to the shell on which it is mounted such that the twoparts of the connector can be coupled by merely aligning theirinterengaging key and keyway means and rotating the coupling nut througha small are from its latched position.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side view with parts broken away of a connector inaccordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view of the connector shell and coupling nutwhich appears on the left-hand side of the connector shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the left-hand part of the connector showing thepositions of the coupling nut when two connector parts are not inengagement with each other;

FIGURE 4 is FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the positions of theparts when the two parts of the connector are disengaged from eachother.

In the description which follows, the invention is shown as beingprovided on a multi-contact electrical connector of the general typedescribed in detail and claimed in application Ser. No. 439,817, filedMar. 15, 1965, by Clarence Leonard Paullus et a1. Since the instantinvention is directed specifically to the structure of the coupling nut,the other features of the connector will be described only briefly andto the extent necessary for an understanding of the instant invention.

The connector shown comprises two cylindrical connector parts 2, 4; thepart 4 being a plug portion and comprising a metallic cylindrical shell6 with a composite insulating insert means 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 17mounted within the shell. This insert means is made up of a series ofgenerally cylindrical inserts as described in the aboveidentifiedco-pending application and a plurality of cavities are formed in thecomposite insert means by holes extending through the individualinserts. Contact terminals 18 are mounted in each of the cavities andwires 20 extend through the cavities, through a cable clamp 24 andemerge as shown at 22 of the rearward end of the connector part. Theinsert section 14 is of a relatively a view taken along the lines 4-4 offirm and hard material and is adapted to be shifted normally of theconnector axis by a camming ring 23 which is retained on the shell by awasher 25. The purpose of shifting the insert member 14 is to impart aslight degree of tortuosity to the individual cavities after the contactterminals have been inserted and thereby prevent removal of theindividual terminals, this feature of the connectors shown constitutingthe subject matter of the above-identified application Ser. No. 439,817.

The connector part 2 is in many respects similar to the connector part 4and corresponding elements are identi fied by the same referencenumerals as in the part 4 differentiated by prime marks. The connectorpart 2 is advantageously provided with an additional grommet 26 at itsmating face which is compressed when the two parts of the connector arecoupled to provide an interface seal. The shell 6 of the connector part2 is also provided with a radially extending flange 28 by means of whichit can be mounted on a panel. The mating ends of the two shell membersare provided with key and keyway means, the

shell 6 having axially extending keys 27 and the shell 6' havingcorresponding keyways 29 in order to polarize the two parts during thecoupling operation and to assure that the individual contact terminals18, 18' will be axially aligned with each other.

The structure of the connector shown in FIGURE 1 described thus far iseither conventional or constitutes the patentable subject matter ofapplication Ser. No. 439,-

;17. The coupling nut and the improvements thereto [1 accordance withthe instant invention will now be decribed.

A cylindrical coupling nut is rotatably mounted on he mating end of theshell 6 and extends rearwardly of a 'adially extending flange 31 on theshell. At its rearward and, this nut 30 is provided with a plurality ofteeth 32 which, in the assembled connector, are bent downwardly 1ndinwardly over a washer 34. This washer, in effect, :hus becomes integralwith, and part of, the locking ring 50 after assembly, the teeth 32being shown in FIGURE 2 prior to bending and the washer 34 being shownon .he shell 6 rearwardly of the flange 31.

A flat circular spring washer 36 having a sinuous configuration isinterposed between the rearwardly facing surface of the flange 31 andthe forwardly facing surface of the washer 34-. This spring functions tobias the locking ring rearwardly (leftwardly in FIGURES l and 3)relative to the shell 6. At its forward or mating end, the locking ringis provided with a plurality (three in this case) of spiral grooves orchannels 38 on its internal surface which are adapted to be engaged withan equal number of radially extending pins 40 on the mating end of theshell member 6. The grooves 38 are angularly spaced apart by an amountequal to the angular spacing between the pins 40 so that each pin isadapted to enter one of the grooves. It will be apparent that uponrotation of the coupling nut relative to the shell 6, the pins 40 willmove relatively into the grooves 38 and the two connector parts will bepulled towards each other and into complete engagement. At the inner endof each groove 38, a hole 42 is provided in the coupling nut. This holeis slightly off center with respect to the groove so that a pocket isformed at the end of each groove. This pocket is displaced relativelytowards the mating end of the locking ring (with respect to the end ofthe groove 38) so that when the parts are coupled, the locking ring willbe moved rightwardly as viewed in FIGURE 1 and towards the connectorpart 2 for reasons which will be explained below.

When the two parts of the connectors 6, 6' are being engaged, they mustbe oriented angularly with respect to each other such that the key andkeyways 27, 29 will be in axial alignment. Before the locking ring 30can be rotated, it must also be oriented such that the entrance portionsof the grooves 38 will be in alignment with the pins 40 and thisaligning function is achieved by a ratchet mean effective between thecOupling nut and the flange 31 which will now be described.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, the forward portion of the coupling nutadjacent to its mating end has a relatively thicker wall than therearward portion. The transition between these thick and thin-walledportions of the nut forms a repetitive series of shoulders 46, 48, and50; the shoulders 46 face rearwardly and lie in a plane extendingnormally of the connector axis while the shoulders 48 lie in a planeextending parallel to the connector axis. The shoulders 50 extendgenerally spirally from the ends 49 of the shoulders 48 to the nextadjacent shoulder portion 46.

The forwardly facing surface of the flange 31 is provided with shoulders52 which extend radially with respect to the connector axis and withaxially facing surfaces 54, 56. The surfaces 54 and 56 lie in spacedapart planes extending parallel to the connector axis while the surfaces55 slope from the surfaces 52 up to the surfaces 56.

Since the spring 36 biases the locking ring 30 rearwardly of theconnector part 6 (leftwardly in FIGURES 1 and 3), the shoulders 46, 48,50 are resiliently biased towards the forwardly facing surface of theflange 31 and the complementary contours of these shoulders and surfacesconstitute a ratchet mechanism. The locking ring 30 can thus be turnedin a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIGURE 4 but cannotbe turned in a counterclockwise direction because of. t e in g gement ofthe shoulders 52, 48. The locations of the interengageable shoulders 48,52 are such that in any latched position of the nut 30 relative to theshell 6, the entrance portions of the channels will be aligned with thepin 40 of the shell member 6'.

With the disclosed arrangement, the coupling operation is renderedrelatively simple and fool-proof. When the keys and keyways 27, 29 arealigned with each other, the entrance portions of the channels 38 willbe in alignment with the pins 40 (assuming that the locking ring is inone of its latched positions) and the two parts of the connector can befully engaged by merely turning the locking ring. If the locking ring isnot in one of its latched positions, it need only be rotated through aslight are until the click of the ratchet mechanism indicates that ithas been rotated to One of its latched positions.

It should be noted that the shoulders 48 and 52 will be against eachother (FIGURE 6) only when the connector part 6 is disengaged from theconnector part 6 and the spring washer 36 can bias the coupling nutleftwardly to the end of its permitted range of travel. When the twoconnector parts are in coupled relationship (FIGURE 1), the bayonet pins40 will hold the coupling nut in a rightwardly displaced position suchthat the shoulders 48, 52 will be held out of engagement with each other(FIG- URE 5). As explained above, the channel or grooves 38 curvetowards the mating end of the locking ring at the inner ends to achievethis rightward displacement of the locking ring relative to the shell 6when the two parts of the connector are fully engaged. This feature ofthe disclosed embodiment is of importance since the parts must be movedin the direction of the arrows in FIGURE 5 to decouple the two parts ofthe connector and they could not be so moved if the shoulders 48, 52were against each other. When the parts of the connector are coupledwith each other, the locking ring is moved in the direction of thearrows of FIGURE 6 relative to the flange 31, a motion which ispermitted since the shoulders 48, 52 are moving away from each other.

A distinct advantage of the invention is that the orientation of thecoupling nut relative to the shell is achieved with virtually noincrease in the number of separate parts of the connector but isprovided on structure which must be provided for purposes other thanorientation of the coupling nut. Specifically, the flange 31 on theconnector shell 6 and the rearwardly facing shoulders 46, 48, 50 arerequired to retain the coupling nut on the shell. In accordance with theinvention, the forwardly facing surface of this flange 31 and theshoulders 46, 48, 50 are contoured or formed in a manner such that theadded advantage of the orientation of the coupling nut is achieved.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently different modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by wayof illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended tobe defined in the following claims when viewed in their properperspective against the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a multi-contact electrical connector of the type comprising twocylindrical parts engageable with each other, said parts comprisingshell members having interfitting key and keyway means for polarizingpurposes, one of said parts having a locking ring rotatably mountedthereon, said locking ring and said other part having cooperableinterengageable means thereon to pull said parts together upon rotationof said locking ring, said locking ring having an internal rearwardlyfacing shoulder, said shell of said one part having a radially extendingflange facing said shoulder, ratchet means effective between, and beingformed on, the opposed surfaces of said shoulder and said flange, saidratchet means being effective to latch said locking ring in at least oneposition, said. one position corresponding to the starting position ofsaid inter- References Cited engaging means whereby, after initialcoupling of said UNITED STATES PATENTS shells, said locking ring can beimmediately rotated to engage Said parts with each other. 2,984,8115/1961 Hennesssey et al 339-9C 2. A device as set forth in claim 1wherein said inter- 5 3302956 8/1965 Hennessey 339*9C engageable meanson said locking ring and said other part comprises an internal spiralgroove in said locking FOREIGN PATENTS ring and a locking pin extendingradially from said other 1,297,925 5 1962 France.

part, said spiral groove having an internal end located 1, 3/ 1954 am ata distance inwardly from the mating end of said lock- 10 ing ring suchthat said ratchet means is maintained out of MARVIN CHAMPION, Examine!-engagement when said two parts are coupled. H. MCGLYNN, Assistant

1. IN A MULTI-CONTACT ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR OF THE TYPE COMPRISING TWOCYLINDRICAL PARTS ENGAGEABLE WITH EACH OTHER, SAID PARTS COMPRISINGSHELL MEMBERS HAVING INTERFITTING KEY AND KEYWAY MEANS FOR POLARIZINGPURPOSES, ONE OF SAID PARTS HAVING A LOCKING RING ROTATABLY MOUNTEDTHEREON, SAID LOCKING RING AND SAID OTHER PART HAVING COOPERABLEINTERENGAGEABLE MEANS THEREON TO PULL SAID PARTS TOGETHER UPON ROTATIONOF SAID LOCKING RING SHOULDER, SAID RING HAVING AN INTERNAL REARWARDLYFACING SHOULDER, SAID SHELL OF SAID ONE PART HAVING A RADIALLY EXTENDINGFLANGE FACING SAID SHOULDER, RATCHET MEANS EFFECTIVE BETWEEN, AND BEINGFORMED ON, THE OPPOSED SURFACES OF SAID SHOULDER AND SAID FLANGE, SAIDRATCHET MEANS BEING EFFECTIVE TO LATCH SAID LOCKING RING IN AT LEAST ONEPOSITION, SAID ONE POSITION CORRESPONDING TO THE STARTING POSITION OFSAID INTERENGAGING MEANS WHEREBY, AFTER INITIAL COUPLING OF SAID SHELLS,SAID LOCKING RING CAN BE IMMEDIATELY ROTATED TO ENGAGE SAID PARTS WITHEACH OTHER.